An Unusual Friendship

There once was a giant who lived in the deepest part of the woods. He tried to stay away from the people who lived in the nearby village. It was not that the giant was unfriendly. In fact, he enjoyed the company of others, but too many times he had accidently frightened the young children who lived close to his woods. When the bravest of children would dare to enter the edge of the woods to try to see the giant, they would nearly faint when they got their first glimpse of the colossal man. Before he could even speak to them or try to convince them he was friendly, the children would go running and screaming back to the village.

The giant’s strange encounters with the children of the village caused the giant to move deeper into the woods. He did everything he could to stay away from the village. He might wish for someone to talk to, but he was kind enough that he never wanted to see the frightened faces of the children again. So, he stayed in the woods and away from everyone else.

One day, a small boy from the village managed to escape the watchful eyes of his mother. Before she even knew where he might have gone, the child had disappeared into the area of the woods that belonged to the giant. The giant was not aware that the small boy had entered his forest because he had problems of his own. He had fallen and could not get up!

When the young boy saw the giant’s house, he was more curious than afraid. He was just about to walk up and knock on the giant door of the giant house when he heard someone moaning. The boy rounded the corner of the house and spied the giant on the ground and in distress. Thinking only about helping the poor soul, the young boy grabbed a piece of wood that was nearby on the ground. He used the plank as a lever and managed to apply pressure to one end of the wood and slide the other piece just underneath the body of the giant. Using the lever, he managed to help the giant regain his balance. The giant, now standing, was overwhelmed by the boy’s kindness.

He helped the young boy find his parents and was surprised by how kind they were to him and how grateful they were that he had helped their son find his way back home. The giant left the village with a much lighter heart than he had before, and he smiled as he heard the boy holler that he would visit him again very soon.